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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

It All Comes Down to This

It is Tuesday, of the third week in August and for those in the know, that means the Leadville 100 is no longer just creeping up, it is about to come thundering along, crashing into town and taking up shop for 30 hours beginning at the wee hour of 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 21. As many dreams will be brought to life on those trails as will be crushed (the average finishing rate for the LT100 is somewhere around 40-45%). I'm thinking, August 21, 2010 is a mighty fine day to liven up my dreams again, why not? Let's throw another notch in the ol' belt :)

It's official, the entrant's list says so:

Bib #: 776 Paige Troelstrup Chicago IL 28 F F2

Ooo, I even get my very own bib number ahead of time! Which is great because that means putting together drop bags is easier since I can go ahead and label them with all the pertinent information :)

Speaking of which, I'm all packed! This is a first, it should be noted in some sort of diary that is kept in some kind of historical records department in a maximum security library. It's kind of a big deal.

Last Friday night, Geof and I decided to work on our race nutrition and ended up spending the entire evening packing all our nutrition, portioning out individual servings of Perpetuem and Gatorade for the crew vehicle and our drop bags. Portioning out gels, chews, gum and tasty delights.

And, heck, why stop there? We then decided to organize our drop bags with everything we planned on having in them. Flashlights, headlamps, batteries, foot care, soap, towels, sunscreen, bug spray, Starbucks Doubleshot, food, gum, music, gloves, changes of clothes, shoes, hats, Bodyglide, socks... Geof stopped at one point, mid-portioning of a baggie of Perpetuem,"I bet we are the only couple in the country spending their entire Friday night putting together race nutrition, a week in advance. And enjoying it!" I bet he was right.

We took Saturday off and then resumed packing on Sunday, where I went gangbusters on my running closet and packed all my clothes for the entire trip! Talk about being on a roll. Last night I made sure it all fit into my two suitcases, with relative success :)

I should mention I have run a whopping 6.2 miles in the last 6 days due to that nagging adductor issue of late. I don't know if it's mostly my mind doing its usual pre-race jitter dance on me, but I'm not too keen on getting hurt before the big dance, so I opted to take some rest days. And what better time to do that than during the taper, right? Well, it's really a hamstring issue that I'm going to have to address once back from CO, but in the meantime all I can do is maintain. I did have a successful 2.5 mile run this morning without issue and that's just what I was looking for. I got a fancy voodoo Rock Tape do from Dr. Heddles at Active Body Chiropractic again yesterday and besides looking like a BAMF, it feels good, too.

The taper demons are out in force and are resting atop my shoulders. Where is my freakin' angel to counter-balance these demons?! It's been long enough since I sufficiently psyched myself out for a race that I've forgotten all the mind games that go on in the days leading up to it. Since it was quiet at work today, there was ample time to...fester. Here's hoping tomorrow picks up the pace a bit so I don't have time to do that!

I do think a lot about how much stock we, as ultrarunners, put into single races. Not everyone is like this, but a lot are. And everyone deals with it differently. It's not a pressure, per se, but it's a definite feeling of something akin to that. You put in all this time and energy and hard work towards this singular goal, and all you can do come race day is...hope for the best. It's scary! But, that's yet another reason why I do it. It's so uncomfortable and takes me so far outside myself, yet it carries with it this intense feeling of accomplishment. An excruciatingly beautiful experience.

Who are we if we don't put ourselves outside our comfort zone every now and then and dare to experience life outside of it?

But, I digress.

I'm as ready as I'm going to be, and now it's just a waiting game. All that time, all that running, all that cross-training, all that...time! It all comes down to this...

10 comments:

Go Paige! Hope you guys have a fabulous time in Leadville - it will be hard, but like you said, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone helps you experience LIFE! And hey, I know we would enjoy a Friday night like you and Geof! Have fun, savor the moments, and we will look forward to a full report!

Steve and Kathleen - Ya know, somehow that wouldn't shock me reading about you two spending a Friday night in a very similar fashion! The Happy Trails camp is probably the super awesome Colorado twin of the GnP camp! :)

Brian, I've never been this nervous before an event! But, hey, it's just another day in the woods, right!? :) **I am now thinking happy, warm fuzzy thoughts!!**

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Quotes and Musings

"What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for." ~ George Mallory, 1922

"There is a reason in every race to finish it or to quit early; it's a matter of what you choose. I believe the choice you take out there is the choice you're going to take in every aspect of life." ~ Perry Edinger

"Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself." ~ Lululemon

"If you start to feel good during an ultra, don't worry, you'll get over it." ~Thibeault

"The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences." ~Chris McCandless

"Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you." ~Chris McCandless

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